Offshore wind turbine
The generation of electricity is described, using an offshore wind turbine. A generating sub-assembly 101 is supported by support mechanism (103) upon a support structure 102. The generating sub-assembly has a wind-responsive turbine and an electrical generator. The support structure includes a buoyancy portion (106) for submersion in water and a mast portion (108) extending from said buoyancy portion to extend the generating sub-assembly above the waterline. The support structure is buoyant and is free to roll when floating in water and the support mechanism is hinged to allow the generating sub-assembly to maintain an operational angle during the rolling of the support structure.
This application claims priority from United Kingdom Patent Application No. 13 23 153.5 filed 31 Dec. 2013, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for generating electricity, of the type comprising a generating sub-assembly and a support structure for supporting said generating sub-assembly.
The present invention also relates to a method of generating electricity.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to use wind turbines to generate electricity, and it is also known for these wind turbines to be positioned offshore. Known systems may be fixed or may float, but each incorporates a fixed platform that can introduce difficulties. Difficulties exist in terms of establishing structures of this type at sea, particularly in deep water. Furthermore, they are prone to fatigue because a rigid fixed structure will attract and absorb vibrations induced by wind and turbine operation. The introduction of this fatigue will reduce the operational lifespan of the device.
It is also known that a fixed structure must be fixed or tied to the seabed, such that it will require substantial deep foundations, thereby limiting positions where systems of this type may be installed.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for generating electricity, comprising: a generating sub-assembly; a support structure for supporting said generating sub-assembly; and a support mechanism for securing the generating sub-assembly to said support structure; wherein: said generating sub-assembly has a wind-responsive turbine and an electrical generator; said support structure includes a buoyancy portion for submersion in water and a mast portion extending from said buoyancy portion to extend the generating sub-assembly above a water line; said support structure is buoyant and free to roll when floating in water; said support mechanism is hinged so as to allow the generating sub-assembly to maintain an operational angle during the rolling of said support structure; and said mast portion comprises: an elbow; a first section below said elbow inclined at a first angle away from said turbine; and a second section above said elbow inclined at a second angle towards said turbine.
In an embodiment, the centre of gravity of the generating sub-assembly is below the position of the hinge.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of generating electricity, comprising the steps of: locating a buoyant support structure in water, such that said buoyant support structure is free to roll in said water; and supporting a generating sub-assembly upon said support structure by a hinged mechanism, so that said generating sub-assembly is rotatable about said hinge so as to maintain an operational angle for a turbine forming part of said generating sub-assembly during the rolling of the buoyant support structure; wherein said support structure includes a mast portion comprising an elbow; a first section below said elbow inclined at a first angle away from said turbine; and a second section above said elbow inclined at a second angle towards said turbine.
An apparatus for generating electricity is shown in
The generating sub-assembly 101 has a wind-responsive turbine 104 and an electrical generator 105.
The support structure 102 includes a buoyancy portion 106 for submersion in water; water level is indicated at 107. The support structure 102 also includes a mast portion 108 extending from the buoyancy region 106 to extend the generating sub-assembly 101 above waterline 107. In this way, the support structure 102 is buoyant and free to roll when floating in water. Furthermore, the support mechanism 103 is hinged so as to allow the generating sub-assembly to maintain an operational angle during the rolling of said support structure. Thus, the generating sub-assembly 101 is free to roll in a direction indicated by arrow 109.
The embodiment shown in
The inverted pendulum apparatus of
The generating sub-assembly is supported on a substantially horizontal hinge system, while being self adjusting with respect to the vertical alignment; so as to maintain the correct heading to the horizontal, based on the counterweight. It is also stabilised, when rotating, due to the gyroscopic effect.
The generating sub-assembly 101 includes a rotor ballast 201, in this embodiment, to ensure that the centre of gravity of the generating sub-assembly is below the position of its supporting hinge. Thus, the hinge of the support mechanism 103 locates the generating sub-assembly at a first position 202 and at a second position 203. Thus, in this embodiment, the rotor ballast 201 provides an extension that descends below hinge positions 202 and 203 so as to lower the centre of gravity of the generating sub-assembly 101.
The apparatus of
In this embodiment, the generating sub-assembly includes three rotor blades, including rotor blade 304. The rotor blades rotate within a plane that should be perpendicular to the direction of the wind. Thus, a rotor axis 305, perpendicular to the plane of the rotor blade 304, defines the attitude of the rotors.
In the example shown, due to roll, the mast portion 108 has swung backwards in the direction of arrow 306. To compensate for this, while maintaining attitude, the generating sub-assembly 101 has rotated in the direction of arrow 307.
To facilitate the backward roll, as shown in
In the embodiment of
Above elbow 308, the mast portion defines a second section 312 that is inclined at a second angle 313 returning the mast portion 108 back towards the turbine blade 304.
The apparatus of
As illustrated in
The buoyancy section 106 includes a buoyancy tank 404. In this embodiment, the buoyancy tank contains air; although other gases could be used or the buoyancy area could be filled with lightweight material such as polystyrene. The buoyancy tank 404 may be defined by inflatable structures. In the embodiments described, the overall structure is defined by steel sheeting. However, in alternative configurations, more of the substructure could be defined by inflatable units.
In the embodiment shown in
To establish a structure of the type described with reference to
In an embodiment, a tether 406 is attached to the buoyant support structure to maintain the location of the structure, while still permitting the structure to roll.
Structures of this type, subject to vibrations, usually require a reliable and sufficient level of damping. In this application, substantial damping is achieved by the presence of the water surrounding the floating structure.
As illustrated in the Figures, a substantial proportion of the structure is located below the surface of the water and hence below any waves; the overall exposure to waves is therefore minimal.
As a floating object, the structure will have a natural frequency for overall movement, far lower than resonant frequencies for fixed structures. Given the low value of this natural frequency, it will not interact with turbine frequencies and will therefore have minimum effect on turbine operation.
As illustrated in
In the example, an anchor point may be made to a first structure at location 502 and again at a location connected to a second structure 503. In the example, oncoming wind is shown blowing in the direction of arrow 504. Each turbine thereby presents its rotors towards the wind and these positions are maintained while the support structures roll, as described previously.
During installation, ballast may be added, for retention in ballast tank 405, in order to provide the required level of buoyancy and effectively move the centre of buoyancy; this being the centre of the volume of water that the device displaces when floating.
To summarise, the system may be considered as a floating inverted pendulum; therefore it may rotate or move freely to some degree around the point of equilibrium, as distinct from having a ground-fixed foundation. The structure, the ballast and the buoyancy tank can be partially or wholly inflatable, thereby facilitating fabrication and installation.
The apparatus described reduces fatigue problems by introducing an inherently flexible support that is a floating system; the flexible system experiences lower loads compared to a similar rigid system.
The approach overcomes many problems associated with the installation of a foundation on the seabed. The floating pendulum (or inverted pendulum) is self adjusting with respect to vertical alignment, because the centre of gravity is lower then the centre of buoyancy.
The rotor blade sub-assembly is hinged on a horizontal axis and is self adjusting with respect to the horizontal heading. Thus, it remains horizontal to the wind while the supporting floating structure may roll significantly away form vertical alignment. The overall performance is achieved by the presence of the counterweight, in combination with the gyroscopic effect when the rotor blades are operating.
The preferred J-shape introduces a new aesthetic but it also introduces the functionality of ensuring that the blades clear the structure when the structure rolls away from verticality.
Claims
1. An apparatus for generating electricity, comprising: wherein:
- a generating sub-assembly;
- a support structure for supporting said generating sub-assembly; and
- a support mechanism for securing the generating sub-assembly to said support structure;
- said generating sub-assembly has a wind-responsive turbine and an electrical generator;
- said support structure includes a buoyancy portion for submersion in water and a mast portion extending from said buoyancy portion to extend the generating sub-assembly above a water line;
- said support structure is buoyant and free to roll when floating in water;
- said support mechanism is hinged by a hinge mechanism and a centre of gravity of the generating sub-assembly is below a position of said hinge mechanism during electricity generation, so as to allow the generating sub-assembly to rotate around a horizontal axis to maintain an operational angle during the rolling of said support structure; and
- said mast portion comprises: an elbow; a first section below said elbow inclined at a first angle away from said turbine; and a second section above said elbow inclined at a second angle towards said turbine.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said generating sub-assembly has an extension that descends below said hinge to lower the centre of gravity of the generating sub-assembly during electricity generation.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said mast portion further comprises a vertical section extending between said buoyancy portion and said first section.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said buoyancy portion includes a buoyancy tank.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said buoyancy tank contains air.
6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said buoyancy portion includes inflatable structures.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said buoyancy portion includes a ballast tank.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said buoyancy portion includes a buoyancy tank and said ballast tank is located below said buoyancy tank.
9. A plurality of the apparatus of claim 1, said plurality being arranged in an array.
10. A method of generating electricity, comprising the steps of:
- locating a buoyant support structure in water, such that said buoyant support structure is free to roll in said water; and
- supporting a generating sub-assembly upon said support structure by a hinged mechanism, wherein a centre of gravity of the generating sub-assembly is below a position of said hinged mechanism during electricity generation, so that said generating sub-assembly is rotatable around a horizontal axis about said hinge so as to maintain an operational angle for a turbine forming part of said generating sub-assembly during the rolling of the buoyant support structure; wherein
- said support structure includes a mast portion comprising an elbow; a first section below said elbow inclined at a first angle away from said turbine; and a second section above said elbow inclined at a second angle towards said turbine.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of attaching a tether to said buoyant support structure to maintain the location of said structure while still permitting said structure to roll.
12. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of arranging a plurality of said support structures in an array.
13. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of adding ballast to provide the required degree of buoyancy.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Dec 23, 2014
Date of Patent: Jun 23, 2020
Patent Publication Number: 20160319802
Assignee: Windbuoyy AG (Berlin)
Inventor: Houman Taheri Amlashi (London)
Primary Examiner: Woody A Lee, Jr.
Assistant Examiner: Michael L Sehn
Application Number: 15/108,649
International Classification: F03D 13/25 (20160101); F03D 9/25 (20160101); F03D 1/00 (20060101); B63B 35/44 (20060101); B63B 39/00 (20060101); B63B 39/02 (20060101); F03D 1/06 (20060101); F03D 7/02 (20060101); B63B 17/00 (20060101);